The Boonton 55 Series USB power sensor offers very fast, accurate and highly reliable RF power measurements with the capability of making over 16 automated pulse power measurements on captured pulsed RF signals.

Boonton's 55 Series Wideband USB Peak Power sensor can easily be used for remote monitoring within your local network via a LAN (PoE - Power-over-Ethernet) or WiFi connection by using a standard WiFito- USB sharing device.

In this application note we highlight how broadband LTE and WiFi power amplifier (PA) performance can be characterized using Boonton’s high performance USB peak power meter. Figure of merit measurements like input and output crest factor can be performed to characterize amplifier compression using highly dynamic and broadband LTE & WiFi signals. With the use of a directional coupler the USB peak power meter is transformed to make scalar-like measurements such as gain and return loss.

When demonstrating the Boonton 4500B to customers, a question often arises regarding the nature of the shape of the observed pulse when viewing in logarithmic mode. The trailing edge appears to display a slow decay, and there can be concern that the instrument is not showing a faithful reproduction of the pulse. The following article explains this phenomenon, which is present for all diode power sensors regardless of manufacturer, and shows that it has a negligible effect on measurement.

Pulsed signals used for radar, remote sensing and tracking, MRI medical imaging, and certain wireless communication applications such as WiMax & LTE have become increasingly complex to measure. The instruments used to measure these signals must have sufficient capability to account for synchronization changes within a burst of pulses to capture a specific region and measure the signal accurately. A Peak power meter with advanced trigger capabilities is an excellent tool for this purpose.

The Boonton 4540 series RF peak power meters consisting of the 1-channel 4541 and the 2-channel 4542 provide one of the most versatile power measuring systems with the capability of making over 20 different power related measurements on captured signals. The 4540 power meter can be operated with Boonton peak, CW power sensors, and voltage probes and can function as a CW and Peak power meter, statistical power analyzer and RF voltmeter. The instrument provides three basic power measurements – pulse power, modulated power and statistical power. Each mode is targeted towards a specific type of measurement which can be displayed both graphically and numerically.

Digital modulation methods of cellular and other wireless communications system present a challenge for making accurate peak power measurements. Although there are many different implementations, the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and Spread Spectrum Modulation are the latest technologies. Of many wireless communication systems, WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) is the one which uses several modulation schemes.

Military

The Boonton 55 Series USB power sensor offers very fast, accurate and highly reliable RF power measurements with the capability of making over 16 automated pulse power measurements on captured pulsed RF signals.

Measuring and characterizing pulsed RF signals used in radar applications present unique challenges. Unlike communication signals, pulsed radar signals are "on" for a short time followed by a long "off" period, during "on" time the system transmits anywhere from kilowatts to megawatts of power. The high power pulsing can stress the power amplifier (PA) in a number of ways both during the on/off transitions and during prolonged "on" periods. As new PA device technologies are introduced, latest one being GaN, the behavior of the amplifier needs to be thoroughly tested and evaluated. Given the time domain nature of the pulsed RF signal, the best way to observe the performance of the amplifier is through time domain signal analysis. This article explains why the peak power meter is a must have test instrument for characterizing the behavior of pulsed RF power amplifiers (PA) used in radar systems

Pulsed signals used for radar, remote sensing and tracking, MRI medical imaging, and certain wireless communication applications such as WiMax & LTE have become increasingly complex to measure. The instruments used to measure these signals must have sufficient capability to account for synchronization changes within a burst of pulses to capture a specific region and measure the signal accurately. A Peak power meter with advanced trigger capabilities is an excellent tool for this purpose.

When demonstrating the Boonton 4500B to customers, a question often arises regarding the nature of the shape of the observed pulse when viewing in logarithmic mode. The trailing edge appears to display a slow decay, and there can be concern that the instrument is not showing a faithful reproduction of the pulse. The following article explains this phenomenon, which is present for all diode power sensors regardless of manufacturer, and shows that it has a negligible effect on measurement.

The Boonton 4540 series RF peak power meters consisting of the 1-channel 4541 and the 2-channel 4542 provide one of the most versatile power measuring systems with the capability of making over 20 different power related measurements on captured signals. The 4540 power meter can be operated with Boonton peak, CW power sensors, and voltage probes and can function as a CW and Peak power meter, statistical power analyzer and RF voltmeter. The instrument provides three basic power measurements – pulse power, modulated power and statistical power. Each mode is targeted towards a specific type of measurement which can be displayed both graphically and numerically.

Measuring and characterizing pulsed RF signals used in radar applications present unique challenges. Unlike communication signals, pulsed radar signals are "on" for a short time followed by a long "off" period, during "on" time the system transmits anywhere from kilowatts to megawatts of power. The high power pulsing can stress the power amplifier (PA) in a number of ways both during the on/off transitions and during prolonged "on" periods. As new PA device technologies are introduced, latest one being GaN, the behavior of the amplifier needs to be thoroughly tested and evaluated. Given the time domain nature of the pulsed RF signal, the best way to observe the performance of the amplifier is through time domain signal analysis. This article explains why the peak power meter is a must have test instrument for characterizing the behavior of pulsed RF power amplifiers (PA) used in radar systems

In this application note we highlight how broadband LTE and WiFi power amplifier (PA) performance can be characterized using Boonton’s high performance USB peak power meter. Figure of merit measurements like input and output crest factor can be performed to characterize amplifier compression using highly dynamic and broadband LTE & WiFi signals. With the use of a directional coupler the USB peak power meter is transformed to make scalar-like measurements such as gain and return loss.

The Boonton model 55006 USB Peak Power Sensor and 4542 benchtop Power meter used with model 57006 Peak Power sensor or model 51011 EMC power sensors are the instruments of choice for capturing, displaying and analyzing RF power for automotive EMC and RF immunity testing. This application paper focuses on discussing the usage of peak power meters in RF immunity testing for EMC purposes.

The Boonton Model 7200 Capacitance Meter is a precision, high-speed instrument used to measure the capacitance of semiconductor devices and passive components. One application for the Model 7200 is the measurement of Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy, or DLTS. This application note provides guidelines for using the Model 7200 in a DLTS system; it analyzes several ways of generating pulse bias and presents examples of the measurement capabilities of the Model 7200.

EMI/EMC

Boonton's 55 Series Wideband USB Peak Power sensor can easily be used for remote monitoring within your local network via a LAN (PoE - Power-over-Ethernet) or WiFi connection by using a standard WiFito- USB sharing device.

The Boonton model 55006 USB Peak Power Sensor and 4542 benchtop Power meter used with model 57006 Peak Power sensor or model 51011 EMC power sensors are the instruments of choice for capturing, displaying and analyzing RF power for automotive EMC and RF immunity testing. This application paper focuses on discussing the usage of peak power meters in RF immunity testing for EMC purposes.

Radar

The Boonton 55 Series USB power sensor offers very fast, accurate and highly reliable RF power measurements with the capability of making over 16 automated pulse power measurements on captured pulsed RF signals.

Measuring and characterizing pulsed RF signals used in radar applications present unique challenges. Unlike communication signals, pulsed radar signals are "on" for a short time followed by a long "off" period, during "on" time the system transmits anywhere from kilowatts to megawatts of power. The high power pulsing can stress the power amplifier (PA) in a number of ways both during the on/off transitions and during prolonged "on" periods. As new PA device technologies are introduced, latest one being GaN, the behavior of the amplifier needs to be thoroughly tested and evaluated. Given the time domain nature of the pulsed RF signal, the best way to observe the performance of the amplifier is through time domain signal analysis. This article explains why the peak power meter is a must have test instrument for characterizing the behavior of pulsed RF power amplifiers (PA) used in radar systems

Boonton's 55 Series Wideband USB Peak Power sensor can easily be used for remote monitoring within your local network via a LAN (PoE - Power-over-Ethernet) or WiFi connection by using a standard WiFito- USB sharing device.

When demonstrating the Boonton 4500B to customers, a question often arises regarding the nature of the shape of the observed pulse when viewing in logarithmic mode. The trailing edge appears to display a slow decay, and there can be concern that the instrument is not showing a faithful reproduction of the pulse. The following article explains this phenomenon, which is present for all diode power sensors regardless of manufacturer, and shows that it has a negligible effect on measurement.

Pulsed signals used for radar, remote sensing and tracking, MRI medical imaging, and certain wireless communication applications such as WiMax & LTE have become increasingly complex to measure. The instruments used to measure these signals must have sufficient capability to account for synchronization changes within a burst of pulses to capture a specific region and measure the signal accurately. A Peak power meter with advanced trigger capabilities is an excellent tool for this purpose.

The Boonton model 4540 Series is the instrument of choice for capturing, displaying and analyzing RF power in both the time and statistical domains. Applications include pulsed RF signals such as radar, TDMA and GSM, and pseudorandom or noise-like signals such as CDMA, WLAN and WiMAX. The 4540 Series is a single or dual channel RF Power Meter that can measure modulated or CW signals using peak and average Boonton power sensors. This application paper focuses on discussing the usage of the 4540 Series RF power meter in advanced radar system test and development, especially in developing and testing a transponder type radar system for aviation scenarios.

The Boonton 4540 series RF peak power meters consisting of the 1-channel 4541 and the 2-channel 4542 provide one of the most versatile power measuring systems with the capability of making over 20 different power related measurements on captured signals. The 4540 power meter can be operated with Boonton peak, CW power sensors, and voltage probes and can function as a CW and Peak power meter, statistical power analyzer and RF voltmeter. The instrument provides three basic power measurements – pulse power, modulated power and statistical power. Each mode is targeted towards a specific type of measurement which can be displayed both graphically and numerically.